I actually have to agree with the guy.

For the most part he was nitpicking small nuances about the car but at the same time he is right to say there is confusion in the direction of where Infiniti is trying to go.

Sure, they are working towards providing autonomous vehicles and sure they are working towards becoming more of a sport luxury brand but why blur the line between the two when you have other vehicles that you could have put the Das system into instead of your stand alone sport model?

I have never been a fan of any driving aide but I can understand the need for them. With that said, why make a "sport car" that you can't turn loose when you want too? It's rediculous. If I want all driving aides off, I want them off. Don't deter me from doing what I want with my car. Allow me to turn off the systems and enjoy myself, because that's kind of the point with a 400hp vehicle, isn't it?

 

RavensMinded00 well said in my opinion.^

I'd like to see the car "targeted" a bit better. A sport car or even a "sporty" car should have great steering. Many of us remember another manufacturer that lost lots of cred a few years back because of electric steering. Also, maybe I'm alone here, but, I can't help but think someone in the market for a 50K 400hp car like the Q50, would want technology like Android Auto not engine sound via stereo speakers and steering to match the performance. Easy to fix, drop the DAS and program the head unit. I hope they do it soon. I don't want to have to go to the competition for my next ride.

 

i did not realize they dropped the VLSD in the Q50. that is a big mistake, in particular with the RWD version in the US. not sure if it is possible to have VLSD in an AWD car though so Canada would lose since we only get the AWD. i certainly agree with the reviewer on that point.

 

I think you guys are giving Infiniti far too much credit

330 horsepower is so 2008. The Lincoln MXZ or whatever it's called has 400 hp.

I doubt there was any way to realistically eek any more horsepower out of the 3.7 and remain competitive.

 

The Cadillac ctsv has 640hp, so what's your point?

 

You missed it, apparently.

All the competition in 50k+ 'sport/luxury cars' has forced induction motors making way more than the 3.7s 330 hp.

Infiniti didn't drop a 400 hp motor into the car to make it a bargain M3--hence the open differential, crappy steering and old school 7at--they did it for CAFE and NVH improvement.

I fail to see why this is so exciting. Fast, sure, as fast as the competition. Exciting? Meh.

 

 

Infiniti is falling off imo.
- no DCT
- no LSD
- what idiot decided to bolt turbo's to the heads so no one can upgrade
- Electric Steering meh

 

Infiniti doesn't want you swapping turbos

 

No DCT is a mystery...most likely they already have invested significant money in and are improving the 7AT until Jatco has a DCT ready for market.

No LSD is purely a cost-cutting decision and most of the Infiniti market wouldn't notice if they had an LSD-equipped car or not. For us enthusiasts, that's an easy aftermarket fix though. OS Giken makes various types of LSD's that would far exceed the quality of the factory unit. Many people are already swapping rear gears so adding an LSD while they're in there wouldn't be a big deal.

Integrated turbos was probably a packaging decision as well as making the air flow in the shortest, most efficient path. Additionally, the catalysts will come up to operating temperature faster to scrub emissions. No one is going to be able to outrun the long arm of CAFE regulations and I think we'll only see more of this going forward.

People thought the GT-R would be impossible to mod when it first came out, however, it's turned out to be the most extensible platform for aftermarket development out there, given the relatively small size of the GT-R population in the wild. The GT-R was knocked for some early issues with it's transmission but Nissan fixed most of them through refinement and updates. The GT-R is a unique platform for which Infiniti doesn't have a counterpart to, so the most we can expect is updates every 3 years or so instead of the GT-R's continuous refinement.

Steer by wire is paving the way for autonomous driving. Whether we like it or not, that's the way the industry is heading. Hell, when a rather large slice of the up and coming generation eschews eating a bowl of cereal because creating a dirty bowl creates "too much work and effort" required to clean it, I think that paints a rather dismal picture of where the world is heading. And we'll see companies catering to that to capture that segment of the market.

Believe me, I'm not in favor of a lot of the moves, but that's the direction that everything is moving much to my chagrin.

 

If there was 6MT I would start planning for the upgrade from my G.

Anyone else here of Infiniti referred to as "Japanese BMW"? Read this in an article recently, kinda makes sense since the sport/luxury blend, relative to Lexus and Acrua, tends to favor the former a bit more, even though the MT was dropped.


Hm, interesting you think laziness is the motivation behind self-driving cars. Think major facotrs are safety, convenience, efficiency, and optimization. Main example is for daily commuters, big difference in relying on a service to send a self-driving to take them to work vs. sitting in traffic both ways. Presumably that saved time & effort can be used much more productively while lessening the likelihood of property damage, injury, etc.

 

Too many technology illiterate Neanderthals are complaining about Infiniti going steer by wire. This is the future and it is inevitable. Conceptually having the steering interface with a computer and having the computer control the wheels is objectively a superior system to the previous mechanisms. It may not be perfect now but this system will allow you to completely customize your steering to your liking. Allowing you to implement so many different steering personalities into a single car with variable weighting, ratios, etc. There is absolutely no reason why you couldn’t create a steering mode in software with extreme levels of road feel or anything else desired by a sports car enthusiast. All it would take is the right software implementation. The concerns about this system being less safe than direct mechanical connections are total nonsense. Airplanes are fly by wire and only old aircraft today rely on direct mechanical linkage. Do you worry about the pilot losing steering control when you fly? There may be some initial hiccups but Infiniti is going the right direction.

Car enthusiasts often overestimate their own importance in the market, there is a very good reason why car makers are heading towards more automation and computerization. Humans are inherently error prone when performing activities like driving. Anything that can be expressed algorithmically can be performed perfectly by a computer in a repeatable fashion. Autonomous cars are inevitable and steer by wire is a step in that direction. Don’t shoot the messenger, but sooner or later motorsport will be relegated to some driving country clubs. We still have horse riding don’t we? It just won’t be the norm.

The MotorTrend review was pathetic too, the guy spent the whole time just bashing the steering and deliberately trying to get it to lose control. I’m not sure what point he proved by doing that since I can make any car lose control. The steering system isn’t’ advertised to correct stupid driver inputs. He also criticizes Infiniti for attempting to combine high performance, luxury and technology, claiming that this makes the company directionless. That makes no sense to me, I would think this is something that appeals to most. IMO, the weakest part of the Q50 3.0t is the old 7 speed automatic. Something the review never even addressed.

 

I guess I should add some additional color around that statement because it took my words in a direction that I hadn't considered. I don't think laziness is the main factor behind autonomous cars. It's maybe more a symptom when there's a technology or an app for everything under the sun. I'd read an article recently about millenials eschewing cereal because it was too inconvenient, which floored me by the way, because you don't even have to cook it in most cases. That's starting to veer off topic...and while I very much enjoy technology and make my living at it, I very much lament the laziness side effect it seems to have. Technology advancement is inevitable, but I myself wouldn't mind having DAS, Lane Keep, and Blindspot Intervention...just for the additional safety it affords.

 

Looks like Stillen's 300hp Silver Sport Q50 made 279.59 whp and 274.64 wtq on the dyno, which puts it at around 335-340 crank hp. Not bad at all and it will be interesting to see what they can do with regard to the aftermarket development.

This looks like it's closely in line with the hp of the VQ37, but obviously, the turbo has loads more torque that the VQ didn't have. The VR30 is laying down at the wheels what the VQ had at the crank on the torque.

 

I think the reviewers point was there are far too many safe guards in the car, not that the system doesn't work as a whole. The fact a 400hp rwd car can't drift, when you turn off the stability programs, is an issue. Why bother buying a "sport sedan" that can't act like one? It's redundant and neutered at its core.

I for one have zero intrest in this car, as the reviewer proved a point. It's quick and it can be a semi fun car, only as long as you don't push it to an edge. I for one have no interest in my car telling me what I can and can't do with it when I decide I want to tear up some pavement.